I think you've hit the nail on the head with the new FPS games. They are catering to a crowd that likes collecting achievements more than expanding gameplay. Only so much you can do with with people shooting at each other, and you've seen what happens when they try. Rail-roading game modes that leave little up to the player but point and shoot, or at least limited ways to succeed. Or entire games based around clickable pre-programmed actions.
If you want comparisons to the classics, they were innovative for creating a fun environment for people to play around in. Unreal had its different gun modes which effectively increased the ways to attack and defend a lot. Crysis has its stealth/power/etc to make each player encounter unique. I'm not a huge fan of Halo, but it has a similar fun that Unreal has. Many weapons and it was an early hit on the usable vehicles action. (Tribes beat it by a lot, but that wasn't as globally popular)
And all of those games had large modding communities ready to get something unique done.
Newer games, I feel, are much more restricted. The game engines grow more complex, and the number of successful mods has greatly reduced. Many have turned to narratives to enhance their games, which I'm not a huge fan of. Instead of making a fun game you play through the mechanics to get to the next cut scene.
Only games I see as somewhat unique (though I hate to say it, since I am not a fan) are the new Battle Royale type games. Back to the roots of an open sandbox with variability in play. Even back to the old style of finding items, rather than leveling up individual guns and opening up skills. (I can't stand the modern shooter's need to play for hours just to be on par with other players) I really enjoy when EAs servers have a hiccup and everyone ends up with only the starter kits available.
There are a few MMORPG type FPS. They are interesting, but have limited replay. Games like Borderlands and Destiny. That is all about the items, and if you were a fan of the overhead RPGs like Diablo and Baulder's gate then they can be fun for a while.
The new Unreal Tournament is pretty faithful to the original and Unreal Tournament 3. But the player base is almost non-existent and I think Fortnite has sucked what was left away.
I lean more towards strategic MMOs, though I am currently not playing any. When you have to put some thought into planning, strategy, equipment, etc makes for interesting conflicts with other players, you never know what they are going to have.
So all that said, not sure what to tell you. Hopefully something innovative pops up.
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